“Draft Day” is a by-the-numbers feel-good sports movie, but Rudy Ruettiger be damned if you don’t leave the theater feeling uplifted – even if the events that play out on screen are totally implausible.

Director Ivan Reitman (“Ghostbusters”) sticks to the playbook in his behind-the-scenes portrayal of how an embattled NFL general manager redeems himself to a city, his family, his team and himself on draft day. The script from first-time feature writers Scott Rothman and Rajiv Joseph is exceedingly earnest, well-intentioned and about as vanilla as the Buffalo Bills offense.

By meshing the personal and professional lives of Cleveland Browns GM Sonny Weaver (Kevin Costner, having a blast), the movie tries too hard to be about something more than just football. There are enough extraneous situations that sap the life out of the story. His girlfriend, team salary-cap guru Ali (a miscast Jennifer Garner), is on the verge of sacking him. Then there’s the recent death of his father, a beloved and legendary Browns coach, and a trying relationship with his mother (Ellen Burstyn). Oh, yeah, and Sonny only has 12 hours until he’s on the clock to make his first-round pick in the NFL draft.

Sonny is faced with dealing away Cleveland’s whole draft (think: Mike Ditka trading the farm to acquire Ricky Williams in 1999) to Seattle for the top overall pick to nab Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Bo Callahan (Josh Pence). Or does he retain the seventh pick to take a beast of a linebacker in Vontae Mack (a terrific Chadwick Boseman from “42”), who’s an off-the-field softie? Then there’s Ray Jennings (Arian Foster, the all-pro running back from the Houston Texans), the blue-chip ball carrier with a rap sheet who’s ready to make amends. What’s a GM the fans and media want to see fired to do? The film’s best moments are when it focuses on football, specifically the wheeling and dealing that occurs in the war room on draft day. The cliched phrase “looks like Tarzan, but plays like Jane” is used in the film to describe a prospective player, but it’s also a fitting depiction of the movie.

That’s not to say “Draft Day” is a total dud. Football fans will get a thrill watching Costner in the climactic showdown – which is de rigeuer for any sports movie – but here it doesn’t take place on the field. Instead, it happens in the front-office bunker, where Sonny goes toe-to-toe with his prickly coach (Denis Leary), haggles with agents and negotiates deals like a master. The role of embattled general manager with a heart of gold is tailor-made for Costner, who summons one of his best performances in awhile. Without him, “Draft Day” would be thrown for a loss.